Garment



March 31, 1936. w 5. ,DE 2,o35,eo4

GARMENT Filed Nov. 28, 1934 INVENTO ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 31, 1936 A matar Hosiery Company, ration of Ohio Inc., Piana, Ohio, a corpo- Application November 28, 1934, Serial No. 755,138

3 Claims.

VThis invention relates to garments for men and is concerned more particularly with a novel nether garment provided with a built-in supporter, the latter being of such construction and mounted in the garment in such a way that it aifords complete protection and comfort to the wearer without detracting from the appearance of the garment. Garments constructed in accordance with the invention may take various forms, such as bathing trunks or shorts, athletic pants, one-piece swimming Suits, or the like, and for purposes of explanation, bathing shorts which embody the invention Will be described in detail, although it is to be understood that the utility of the invention is not limited to that particular garment.

Bathing shorts with integral supporters have been made heretofore and in many of those garments with which I am familiar, the Supporter consists of a strip of material which is secured to the garment at the Waistline in the middle of the front and back and extends down through the crotch. The length of this strip is somewhat less than the distance along the garment itself from one point of attachment of the strip to the other, and the strip consequently fits the body of the wearer snugly and provides the desil-ed support. However, the strip pulls down- Ward on the garment, and since this pull is exerted at the waistline and at the points midway between the hips where the top of the garment is least supported by the hips, the Supporter tends to distort the garment at the waistline so that its appearance is impaired. This distortion can be avoided by making the strip longer. but when that is done, the support aiforded by the strip is correspondingly reduced.

The garment of the present invention avoids the disadvantages above referred to of the prior garments and it is so constructed that the supporter performs its intended function without detracting in any way from the appearance of the garment. The Supporter itself is of simple construction and while one end of the Supporter is attached to the garment adjacent the waistline at the front, the attachment is such that the pull of the Supporter on the garment is exerted in such manner that the Waistline is not drawn down. At its other end, the Supporter is attached to the garment adjacent the crotch, and there are no portions of the Supporter which extend up the back of the wearer to the waistline. This makes the new garment more comfortable than prior garments and the new garment offers no interference to the movements of the Wearer.

Fora better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front view of the new garment;

Figure 2 is a vertical Sectional View;

Figures 3 and 4 are Sectional views on the lines 3-3 and 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figures 5 and 6 are detailed views showing different means of attaching the Supporter to the garment; and

Figure 7 is a plan view of a portion of the Supporter.

Referring now to the drawing, the bathing 15 trunks illustrated are generally of conventional construction and may comprise a front section Il and a rear section I I connected together along side scams I2 to form a body portion. At the top, the sections are turned inwardly to form a Wide hem E3 constituting a waistband, on which may be mounted the usual belt loops ld. The sections are cut to form leg openings |5 provided with hems IG, and inward from each opening, the sections are connected together alo-ng an inseam il and are also connected to a gusset I8 which lies between them at the crotch of the garment.

The Supporter which forms an integral part of the garment may be constructed in various ways, and preferably includes a pair of strips l9, 20 which are of elastic material and made, for example, of Webbing or knitted or woven elastic fabric. In the construction illustrated, the supporter includes two such strips and these strips are attached at their upper ends to the waistband of the garment by stitching 2I. The strips are joined together by a vertical seam 22 and at their lower ends the strips have portions 23 which lie one on top of the other and are connected together by stitching 24. Each of the lower end portions 23 terminates in a. tab 25 which extends beyond the overlapping areas of the strips and the end of each tab is secured to the body portion at one side of the gusset and along the hem of a leg opening by stitching 26, the lower end of the Supporter being otherwise unattached to the body portion. Preferably the strips are so formed that when their longitudinal edges 22a are secured together by seam 22, the strips provide a pouch 21 forward of their points of attachment to the body portion.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the Supporter is of somewhat Vless length between its points of attachment to the garment than the distance be- 55 tween those poi'nts along the garment itself. As a consequence, the Supporter lies inward from the inner surface of the garment and thus When the garment is worn, the Supporter fits the body of the wearer snugly and provides the desired support. While the supporting action is accompanied by a downward pull on the garment at the waistband and an inward and up- Ward pull at` the leg openings, the pull at the waistband is exerted at spaced points adjacent the hips instead of being concentrated at a Single point in the middle of the waistband, as in prior garments. Those portions of the waistband which lie directly above the hips receive the greatest support from the body, and since the downward pull is exerted near the hips, that pull is not capable of distorting the waistband to any substantial degree. Similarly the pull in opposite directions on the two leg hems does not cause any noticeable .distortion of the garment.

In the construction shown in Figure 4, the lower en-d of the 'Supporter is attached to the garment by a pair of Connections secured to the leg hems to the rear of the forward end of the gusset 18, but if desired, the end of the Supporter may be connected to the gusset by a line of 'stitching 28 across the gusset, as illustrated in Figure 5, or the lower end of the Supporter may be given a shape which conforms to the shape of the gusset and may be secured thereto along the gusset Searn 29 as shown in Figure 6. Also, the Supporter may have other forms than the V-shape illustrated, but in all Such forms, the upper end of the Supporter is attached to the garment in such manner that the strain is not concentrated on a relatively Short length of the waistband but is so distributed that the maior proportion of it is taken by the garment at points near the hips. These modified constructions produce a garment in which the desired Supporter eifect is obtained and in whichthere is no -distorticn of the waistline either at the front or back. However, the V-shape Supporter shown in Figure 1 having its lower end attaohed to the leg hems is preferable.

The new garment eliminates theV necessity of Va separate Supporter of any type and since the Supporter can be constructed toI conform to the figure, it provides the desired support and at the same time aifords complete comfort. The supporter is so incorporated in the garment that the garment is not distorted or Wrinkled and the desired Supporter action is thus obtained without impairing the appearance of the garment.

I claim:

1. A garment which comprises a body portion having a waistband and leg openings, a gusset at the crotch of the body portion, and a Supporter within the body portion, said Supporter being made up of a pair of strips, the upper ends of which are attached to the body portion at spaced points adjacent the waistband, the strips having overlapping portions adjacent their other ends and tabs beyond said overlapping portions and lying within the crotch between the leg openings, said tabs being connected at their ends to the body portion in the crotch only and along the edges of Said leg openings, .and said Supporter being free of said body portion except for the connections of the upper ends and tabs to Said body portion.

2. A garment which comprises a body portion having a waistband and leg openings, and a supporter within the body portion,V said Supporter having 'upper portions diverging upwardly with the spaced upper ends of said portions connected to the body portion near the waistline 'and adjacent the Sides of the garment, said Supporter having outwardly extending tabs at its other end withsaid tabs lying in the crotch of the garment between the leg openings and connected to the body portion on opposite Sides of the middle of the crotch and adjacent the edges of said leg openings by stitching lying wholly within the crotch, said Supporter being free of the body portion between the ends of said Supporter.

3. A garment which comprises aibody'portion having a waistband and leg openings, and a sup-- porter within the body portion, said Supporter including a pair of strips diverging upwardly to- Ward the waistline and having their spaced upper ends connected to the body portion near the waistline adjacent the Sides of theggarment, said strips having portions overlapping at the crotch of the garment with Said portions terminating in tabs extending outwardly toward the leg openings, the ends of said tabs being secured to the body portion on opposite Sides to the middle of the crotch of the garment adjacent the edges of said leg openings by stitching lying wholly within the crotch, said Supporter being free of the body portion between the ends of said Supporter.

4 VWALTER. D. IDE. 

